In its continued campaign to make intellectual property relevant to all sectors of society, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) gathered notable women inventors on Wednesday (October 10) for the first Women Inventors Group meeting, instituting a platform where their experiences, challenges, and insights on intellectual property can be aired.

IPOPHL Director General Josephine R. Santiago led the inaugural meeting of the Women Inventors Group, which aims to be a regular forum to engage women IP creators on their needs and challenges they face in all aspects of IP - from protection to enforcement.

Women inventors themselves affirmed the need for a mechanism to dialogue with the government, as they seek wider participation, representation, and more women-to-women support in intellectual property.

With the group in place, DG Santiago hopes to foster innovation, and to exemplify on the local and international IP scene that the Philippines’ reputation for high gender parity extends to access to the intellectual property system.

“We want to see, in the future, a strong women’s group of inventors, both those who already have been granted a patent, and those who may not have one yet but are instrumental in generating innovative new products and services,” DG Santiago said.

Through regular discussion with the government, the IPOPHL head aims to incorporate the women’s concerns into its activities.

“Dialogues like these can be a springboard for us to create women-geared programs, or capacity-building activities, so I hope these engagements can be done regularly,” she remarked.

A dozen women researchers and inventors, mostly hailing from the scientific field, attended the inaugural meeting.

IPOPHL’s first vehicle to include women into the fold is the Women in IP (Win IP) project, geared towards cultivating women IP advocates in other government agencies, starting with the National Committee on Intellectual Property Rights (NCIPR). The Women Inventors Group (WinG) is IPOPHL’s bid for further inclusivity, so key women players in research and development, whether private or public, may be heard.